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This is my first post here and I want to apologize in advance if my post is too long. But I really need to get this off of my chest and get some answers. Hopefully someone here can help me. Because I definitely want to put this behind me. Okay, here goes. SEVEN years ago I made the biggest mistake of my life...I had sex. I know most people would say what is so bad about that? Well I later learned that my partner removed the condom without my knowledge. For the past seven years...I have been living in total fear. Scared to be in a relationship, scared to move on with my life and scared to just live. Last month, I was tired of not living and enjoying life because of one sexual encounter I had...so I decided to go and get tested. I went to a local clinic where they offer free HIV testing. The administered the Orasure Advance Oral HIV 1/2 test. I thought to myself...better to know in twenty minutes than waiting 2-3 days. The test came back negative.....I felt a a big weight lift off of my shoulder. I left with my results in hand smiling. It was not later in the week when I started to feel a little anxious.

I started to do a little research on the oral test and oh boy....did I find things that can drive a person like me into the ground. I started reading about the different accuracy rates, about false negatives, false positives and how differently the test is administered. The thing that scared me the most was the fact there have been studies done that show that some people have tested negative on the Oral test despite the fact they were actually positive. This started to drive me nuts (AHHHHHHH). I started to call my doctor's office to get information about the test and one nurse proceeded to tell me basically this test is a piece of crap (became suicidal at this point). I began to loose control at this point...I actually ended up in the phsyc ward in the hospital (CPEP). I am just very scared at this point. I know that most people just say "just go get a blood test". That is easy to say to people but no one knows my state of mind. It took me SEVEN years to get up the nerve to go and get a test which ended up taking twenty minutes. I am not prepared to wait for test results or do not have the mental capacity to deal with another rapid test. I have not had any other known possible exposures and told myself that I was going to move on once I got my results. But now I can't because of all of the "what ifs" associated with this test. What if the tester read it wrong and even though I saw the test...what if I READ IT WRONG. Even though I believe that if there were two lines...I would have noticed because I actually stared at the strip for 2 to 3 minutes. What if I waited to long to take this particular type of test? What if I am one of the 1 in 12 false negs...just too many what ifs. I don't understand why a test with so many what ifs is approved for human use. With a blood test...there is only one reason you get a false negative (testing too early). It seems with this test there are so many reasons or so I have read. There are so many websites and sources that say that this test is over 99% accurate. If that is the case......then what causes the false negatives. If the reason does ball down to testing too early....then I'm good...because I am FAR outside of the window period. Then there is the question of antibodies in oral fluid. Do all HIV infected people have antibodies in there oral fluids and are they at detectable levels at all times? Okay, I know I have said way to much.....I just needed to vent. I hope someone can answer my questions and help ease my mind just a little. At this point , the only thing that is keeping me going is GOD which I thank for keeping me from ending my life. Thank you all for listening....hope to hear from someone soon

There will always be outliers in ANY test. Yet the Oral HIV test remains one of the safest and most reliable tests in the world.

Seven years is way too long to be so scared. Why not just get tested? No one says you can only go once. And if you have doubts about the oral test, get a blood test done.

Most false negatives in HIV testing occur when people test while they are still within the window period for antibody production. This window period is currently a VERY generous three months. Suffice it to say your test now, with seven years' worth of time, would be definitive.

You say that you don't have the mental capacity for waiting for test results. I submit that your mental capacity seems very diminished after putting that test off for seven years.

If it matters to you, you'll grab your underparts and do it.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

Thank you for your response. You are right, my mental capacity is very diminished right now. I put off the test for seven years because I had another family member to worry about....so that kind of distracted me but now she is gone. I am sometimes afraid of things I don't understand and the oral HIV test is one of them. I don't understand how you can't get infected with HIV through oral fluids but you can test for it that way. But I guess if you can verify a persons DNA with oral fluid then it kind of makes sense. I just started having fears when I stated reading about the studies online but the studies offer no reason as to why these things happen. I am at the point that if I did have to wait for the results of another test...then I will not want to live any more no matter what the results are. I don't want to deal with the stress anymore.

Thank you for your response. You are right, my mental capacity is very diminished right now. I put off the test for seven years because I had another family member to worry about....so that kind of distracted me but now she is gone. I am sometimes afraid of things I don't understand and the oral HIV test is one of them. I don't understand how you can't get infected with HIV through oral fluids but you can test for it that way. But I guess if you can verify a persons DNA with oral fluid then it kind of makes sense. I just started having fears when I stated reading about the studies online but the studies offer no reason as to why these things happen. I am at the point that if I did have to wait for the results of another test...then I will not want to live any more no matter what the results are. I don't want to deal with the stress anymore.

I sincerely hope that you can find a competent professional to address your irrational fears.

Here's some stuff that will mess you up, as I am not feeling terribly charitable this morning:

HIV can be identified in not only saliva and oral musousal, but also sweat and tears.

Yet we know sweat and tears are not infectious. Mind blown? Try reading our LESSONS on HIV transmission and developing and actual understanding of the virus. Granted, we can't duplicate biology or virology 101 but we come close here.

Please get the help you so very need.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I am sorry that I did not thank you all for you responses to my post. I have been extremely busy with work, which has taken my mind off things for awhile. However, I have decided that I am going to get a blood test. I am still extremely scared that my results from the "Oral test" may have not been accurate. I know that you all have stated that this test is reliable...but. I spoke with my healthcare provider and she is dead set on the fact that this test is NOT reliable and stated that even though antibodies can be found in the oral fluid, they are in such low quantities that they are EXTREMELY hard to detect. Also, I have read a study that was done at the UCSF by a HIV Researcher " Chris Pilcher" that stated "The first was that oral fluid testing -- using the OraQuick Advance device on a oral fluid swab -- detected only about 86% of all of the cases of HIV that were actually present at testing. And this is because it missed not only all of the acute HIV infections in that 14%, but also some antibody positive infections that turned out to be positive on standard -- other antibody tests and on the western blot. So we identified that the OraQuick had not performed very well when we used oral fluid." . This information really scared me as I thought everything was going to be okay. I understand that the Oraquick Advance is supposed to be 99.8% accurate but I am confused how this could be if it missed some infections EVEN OUTSIDE of the window period. This guy did not give any indication as to why these infections were missed (i.e. low viral load or anti-viral meds) so this is why I am nervous. The people at my local health department are saying that the test is reliable....but for some reason my doctor does not think so and this study has basically stated why she doesn't. With that being said, wish me luck and I pray to GOD that I am not one of these people that this test missed. If you all have any insight on this please feel free to share it with me because I need some serious encouragement right now. Thank you

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts